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Living Your Faith
Resources Global Ministries - Global Ministries combines the resources of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to show God's love around the world. In the DRC, Global Ministries partners with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations clustered around Mbandaka and with the ecumenical umbrella group, Church of Christ in the Congo. Ministries include an agricultural center near Mbandaka and a clinic serving women and children who are victims of the war in eastern DRC; these are supported by our One Great Hour of Sharing donations. Global Ministries also has an advocacy arm in Washington, DC, to help us help the United States act toward justice. The Rev. Sandra Gourdet (Area Executive for Africa) and the Rev. LaMarco Cable (Program Associate, Advocacy and Education) spoke at Forum on April 5, 2009. Friends of the Congo - FotC is an international organization which provides information and opportunities for coordinated advocacy. It sponsors the annual Congo Week, including Cell Out which brings attention to the conflict trade in coltan (found in electronic devices such as cell phones and pacemakers). The United Church of Christ is a major sponsor of FotC. Kambale Musavuli (college and university Student Coordinator) spoke at Forum in October 2008. Enough - Enough is an international organization which seeks to end genocide and crimes against humanity around the world. One of their focal conflict regions is in eastern DRC. Congolese Community of North Carolina - Raleigh - CoCom brings together the Congolese diaspora in our area to build a mutually-supportive and well-integrated community in the U.S. and to address the situation in the DRC. New friends Miki and Jolie Kidibu have participated in our All Things Congo planning group. Contacts: Pastors Steve Halsted (CUCC) and Claudio Ngudi Yumbu (KCC); Fidele Binganisi, Geri Bowen, Ralph Malonda, Fernand Milandu, Margaret Osborne, Gary & Jane Smith; Miki and Jolie Kidibu |
Background on CUCC and the Good New Message Church:
Called by God into Relationship
In the early 1990's a newly arrived Congolese citizen phoned the CUCC office, hoping that the words "church" and "Christ" in our name meant we were a place where he would be welcome to worship. Many people could have picked up the phone, but it was our French-speaking pastor, Cally Rogers-Witte, who answered. From that first phone call God has drawn us into ever deeper relationships - Congolese and American Christians together in worship and friendship. Soon the Church of the Twelve Apostles (now called The Good New Message Church (KCC)), a congregation of a Congolese denomination, was sharing our building. Our children have gone to church school and Vacation Bible School together. We have learned each other's songs and been enriched by the Prophetic Voice who sing in French and Lingala. CUCC benefits from the leadership of the Good New Message Church lay leaders and clergy in worship and on committees. Family friendships have grown. Together we have celebrated births, graduations, and deaths.
Over the years we would receive reports of the hardships faced by families in the DRC. Someone couldn't get an operation because of the scarcity of medical care; another person was afraid for a loved one in the eastern war zone. Periodic presentations were given by those who had just returned from visiting family in the DRC; we would hear about the war, the poverty, and the work of the church. We included the Good New Message Church-based school in our Marketplace of Meaningful Gifts fundraising. We prayed, we worried, but we weren't sure what God was asking us to do in the face of such great suffering and injustice.
The decision of CUCC to undertake the Justice in a Changing Climate Initiative brought a request from one of our Congolese members: could we help the Good New Message Church begin to grapple with what climate change might mean for their homeland? In January of 2009, representatives from the Good New Message Church and CUCC met to plan an educational series of events for Lent. All Things Congo is moving us to deepen our commitment to one another and to the people of the DRC. Thanks to the efforts of the Congolese Community of NC-Raleigh, our March 22 educational event featured noted scholar Dr. Georges Nzongola and was attended by leadership from the wider Congolese community. We began to talk about what actions we might take together to meet the needs for peace, for justice, for education, for health care, and so much more. On April 5 we celebrated Palm Sunday with presentations from United Church of Christ Global Ministries representatives, with joint worship, and with a feast of traditional Congolese foods. April 22 will bring a discussion of two books on Congolese history which we have been reading during Lent. And May 17 will help us answer that original question with a presentation on climate change featuring the impact on the DRC.